Tuesday, January 22, 2008

I know nothing

This may come as a surprise to those of you younger than 40 that I know nothing (or maybe not since you are still struggling with knowing it all). And for those of you pushing 50 or so, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that I know nothing. Because knowing things is a quirk of youth. Not knowing things is a realization of middle age.

I don't write this with much conviction, because that would imply that I know what I'm talking about. I don't. But I feel what I'm talking about.

It is not as easy as you think to know nothing. I spent years perfecting the illusion of knowing something until I finally believed it myself. But in the past few years I began having doubts that my all encompassing knowledge of everything was real. After all, if I knew everything, I wouldn't think that no one would be stupid enough to vote for Bush for a second term or that reality television was just a passing fad. And knowing everything somehow couldn't explain why I am pushing 50 and still haven't become a best selling author.

Epiphany time! I don't know everything! I know nothing! I don't even know enough not to use an exclamation mark several times in one paragraph!

It is a challenge knowing nothing in a world that values expertise. But I think that experts are just people who think they know too much to know nothing. So I have become more or less comfortable with my nothingness.

21 comments:

As someone else who is pushing 50 may I just say that you just confused the hell out of my addled mind and I have no idea what it is you think you don't know, but if I did know what you don't know I'm quite sure I would tell you. But then again....I don't know.

Iridethebus,That's funny, I was thinking of Sgt. Schultz when I was writing this. I almost quoted him. He was the ultimate middle manager archtype for plausible deniability. The difference between him and me though is that I really know nothing.

Shandi,You problably do know everything. But eventually you will see that everything is nothing. You can't pour water into a full glass. :)

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